Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Oxford Said MBA Admissions Deadlines and Essays for 2013-14

The Said Business School at the University of Oxford has released deadlines and essay questions for those aiming to enter their MBA program starting in early August 2014.

Deadlines:

Stage 1 -
Deadline: 9/13/2013
Interview Decision by: 9/27/2013
Final Decision by: 10/18/2013

Stage 2 -
Deadline: 10/25/2013
Interview Decision by: 11/8/2013
Final Decision by: 11/29/2013

Stage 3 -
Deadline: 1/10/2014
Interview Decision by: 2/7/2014
Final Decision by: 2/28/2014

Stage 4 -
Deadline: 3/14/2014
Interview Decision by: 3/28/2014
Final Decision by: 4/11/2014

Stage 5 -
Deadline: 4/25/2014
Interview Decision by: 5/9/2014
Final Decision by: 5/23/2014

Stage 6 -
Deadline: 5/30/2014
Interview Decision by: 6/13/2014
Final Decision by: 6/27/2014



Essays:

(1) What should Oxford expect from you? (Maximum 500 words)

(2) How do you hope to see your career developing over the next 5 years?  How will the MBA and Oxford assist you in the development of these ambitions? (Maximum 500 words)

(3) Please choose and answer one of the two essays below:

Sport is pure competition.  What does it teach us about companies, individuals, and markets? (Maximum 500 words)

OR

The business of business is business.  Is this true? (Maximum 500 words)


Re-applicants will need to complete the three essays mentioned above and a fourth essay on the topic:

What improvements have you made in your candidacy since you last applied to the Oxford MBA? (250 words)


The Said deadlines can be confirmed here, and the essay prompts here.

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com




Sunday, July 28, 2013

How to Organize Essay Writing for MBA Applications

Planning and scheduling is important when it comes to tackling multiple MBA admissions essay sets. Which essay set should you start with? Which one should you save for last? There are numerous ways to order essay sets, and the ideal choice for most will be to consider the best combination of all methods.


1. Start with a school that has relatively "typical" questions, and finish with a school that has more "unique" questions. 

CMU Tepper or UCLA both ask fairly orthodox questions. Harvard and Stanford do not. It makes sense therefore to begin with the school that asks for more basic elements of your overall story. 


2. Start with essays with generous word counts, and finish with shorter essays.

When you write the first version of your goals essay, it makes sense to write it for a school that has a generous word count for it.  It is far easier to write a goals essay in 1,000 words, then 750 words, then 500 words and finally in 250 words.  The reverse order is much, much harder and ore time consuming to do.


3. Start with a "back-up" school and finish with your dream school.

This makes sense, as your writing will improve, and your stories become more clear and detailed, as you go through the process of writing you essays.


4. Start with a school with the earliest deadline, and move on to schools with later deadlines.

This is FAR from ideal, and is usually only considered by those who are writing their essays TOO CLOSE to the deadline. I don't recommend doing this. However, if this is the situation you have put yourself in then there may be little choice but to follow the deadline schedule.


John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com








Friday, July 26, 2013

Michigan Ross MBA Program to Hold Admissions Event in Tokyo on Thursday August 22, 2013

It was reported to me by a current student that Michigan Ross will be hosting an Admissions Information Session for their Full-Time MBA program on Thursday August 22 2013 at 6:45pm at Gakushi Kaikan 202.

Details and the sign up form can be found here.

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Dartmouth Tuck 2013-14 MBA Essay Analysis

Please respond fully but concisely to the following essay questions. There are no right or wrong answers. We encourage applicants to limit the length of their responses to 500 words for each essay. Please double-space your responses.


1. Why is an MBA a critical next step toward your short- and long-term career goals? Why is Tuck the best MBA fit for you and your goals and why are you the best fit for Tuck?

This is a standard goals essay, with an extra element: your contribution to the program.  The best way to organize your first draft is to address the following topics in turn: a) a brief introduction of who you are professionally now, b) your short-term goal, c) the long-term goal, d) a quick assessment of skills you have and skills you'll need to reach those goals, e) a few clear and specific examples of how studying at Tuck in particular will help you gain those skills you need and f) 1-2 examples of demonstrating how you will thrive in the particular environment offered by Tuck.  

Note the word "critical" in the essay prompt.  You need to show clearly that you truly need an MBA.  The way to do this is by having a specific post-MBA goal that requires an MBA, as well as clear examples in part d) of what exactly you need to get from an MBA to position you to achieve that goal.  Ensure the post-MBA goal is not something you can attain simply with more experience in your current role.  The post-MBA goal should instead be something you couldn't possibly do without all the benefits and learnings associated with an MBA.

Note as well both references to "fit". This program isn't for everyone. Is it for you? If so, and you feel strongly about this, then aim to demonstrate how this MBA in particular will give you the education you need to be successful, and also provides the right environment in which you can get that education. Read more about how I define and assess fit here

Feels like a lot for 500 words? You are correct.  I'd suggest the initial draft simply contain all the elements and details you hope to include.  As you pare it down to something shorter, be ready to retain the core ideas (a to f) mentioned above, and cut out additional elements or repetitious or unnecessary sentences not totally focused on the story you are trying to tell. 


2. Tell us about your most meaningful collaborative leadership experience and what role you played. What did you learn about your own individual strengths and weaknesses through this experience?

This may be a professional experience, or it may be a personal one. The choice depends highly on what topics you choose for other essays, as you want to ensure that the overall essay set is balanced.  Also, the experience needs to be meaningful - which means that you need to have learned something significant from it, and can demonstrate that you have applied that learning to future experiences.  Given this, it may be best not to choose something you did yesterday or last week - in other words, choose a leadership experience where the significance on you can be clearly shown. 

I think that using the STAR technique (situation, task, action, and result) is a great way to draft a story essay. Use it in organizing the elements of your initial draft.

Start with the situation; for instance - what was the project you were involved in, and why was it important to your company?  The situation could also be the days after your company released a weak earnings report, or it could be the fact that the NPO you volunteer with has just announced that their public funding would be cut off in 6 months. 

Next, detail what in particular you wanted to accomplish and what hurdles might be involved.  Did you decide to get a new product fast tracked or approach a new prospective donor?  In addition, be clear what the problem or difficulty was. It could have been reluctance among peers or members of another department towards your idea.  Whatever the case, be clear as to a) the goal you set and b) any difficulties that presented themselves in accomplishing that goal.  

The action part of your essay is easily the most important, because it shows how you work, act, and communicate with others, and also because it is likely to be the longest part of your essay. Show here what you did.  Include everything in the first draft, and be ready to focus in on just the key elements of your story in later versions.  

Finally, watt was the outcome of this experience? How was this outcome a success, and what did it mean to you, your colleagues, organization or industry? Be clear as to the significance of the accomplishment.  In addition to this, what was the significance of the experience to you - in other words, what did you learn? You may have learned something about yourself, or about how to manage or lead other people.  Be clear as to not only a strength you possess that you could recognize during this experience, but also a weakness. In defining a strength AND weakness, you'll want to show that not everything went smoothly, or that perhaps the outcome was good but could have been greater if there was something else you could have done, or another method you could have employed in getting the result you wanted.

The value in describing such an experience is that the reader can learn more about you, how you make decisions, how you take initiative, how you accept responsibility, how you communicate with others - and how you have impacted those around you, while also being reflective and learning something about yourself. 

This essay questions was modified by Tuck over the last year. The word "collaborative" was added, and "what role you played" was added too. These changes are important I think, and hopefully will encourage you to consider developing a story that shows you are able to work with others in the pursuit of goals. This is an important characteristic of leaders, and is also, to me at least, a determiner of your potential to be successful at Tuck as well.


3. Describe a circumstance in your life in which you faced adversity, failure, or setback. What actions did you take as a result and what did you learn from this experience?

While your reputation may be the result of your accomplishments, your inner strength and character may be a result of your failures.  In this case Tuck is asking for a time when everything wasn't going well for you, what you did as a result, and what you learned from the experience.  Like essay #2, this story may be personal or professional.  In terms of balancing work and non-work topics, you may choose to have one professional and one personal topic between essays 2 and 3, although this is not a hard and fast rule for everyone. 

Most people dislike writing about adversity, failure, or setback experiences for two reasons. 

1) It is hard to come up with a good topic.

Many of my former clients have told me that "they have never experienced failure".  I doubt this to be true, and usually get them to define failure to me to see if they have misinterpreted the word.  In this essay, there is not only failure, but additional options: setbacks and adversity. Let's take a close look at the meaning of each.

Adversity - a situation where someone or something is opposing what you want to do or preventing you from accomplishing what you want to accomplish
Failure - when you are unable to perform to the level others expect of you, and this prevents you from achieving a certain result
Setback - a reversal or check in progress (I took this from here

As can be seen clearly from the definition, there are a lot of choices here. You could write about when a great accomplishment was put at risk at one step along the way.  You could write about a failure where the result was truly negative, but the resulting learning allowed you to achieve something better later on.  You could write about a severe difficulty encountered along the road towards a victory.  The point is to consider all options when brainstorming possible topics. In the end, be sure your story fits one element from the question: adversity, failure, or setback.

2) Even if a good topic is chosen, the first draft of the story usually fails to show any hint of adversity, failure, or setback.

When I read a weak first draft of a failure essay, the weakness can usually be traced to one of a few things:  a) the author uses "we" instead of "I", so it doesn't really look like they themselves failed at anything at all (instead it looks like the anonymous group, not the author of the essay, failed) or b) the author presents a terrific, big failure - but then fails to describe a clear learning from it that is applied later on.  Be sure to avoid both mistakes when choosing your story and writing initial drafts.  Be sure as well to write about yourself - it is okay to have a team story, as long as you personalize elements of the failure, setback or adversity, and are clear about what you learned from it.  


Once you're sure you've got a great topic, tell the story and personalize it as best as you can.  What was the situation, and what was your particular role?  What happened that was not desirable and to what extent was this your responsibility?  In other words, did you fail, or did you encounter adversity or a setback? Be clear about the next steps: how did you react, and what did you do?  Maybe you assessed the situation, or maybe you got advice.  In any case, be clear how you were proactive in turning the situation around.  Show what you did to make a positive outcome, and show also in the end that you are able to reflect by describing what you learned about the experience.


4. (Optional) Please provide any additional insight or information that you have not addressed elsewhere that may be helpful in reviewing your application (e.g., unusual choice of evaluators, weaknesses in academic performance, unexplained job gaps or changes, etc.). Complete this question only if you feel your candidacy is not fully represented by this application.

The example topics offered in this optional essay (unusual choice of evaluators, etc) are all examples of negative elements of your application that you feel may need to be explained.  And to be sure, if you feel your application has such a negative element, you should consider explaining it here.  But beyond this, if you can't think of anything bad that warrants explanation, I'd include another element, something positive, that reveals another strength or uniqueness about you.  Be sure though, as the question says, to not use this optional essay to simply repeat something that appears elsewhere in your application.

Many applicants ask me if it is a bad thing if they have to write here that their current supervisor cannot be their referee because they are self-sponsored and have not yet revealed to the co-workers that they are applying for an MBA. I advise that applicants should never be concerned about such a situation, and they should certainly use this space to mention that. The only thing to keep in mind is that the referees they do choose should still be well-positioned and capable of commenting on their performance as well as their professional/personal growth and skill development. 


5. (Reapplicants) How have you strengthened your candidacy since you last applied? Please reflect on how you have grown personally and professionally.


The key here is growth, and it is important if you were rejected previously that you be able to demonstrate improvement since that time.  Consider what weaknesses existed in your previous application, and what you have done to address them. Make sure those examples of improvement are clearly shown in this essay. Perhaps you took on a role of more significance or with more individual responsibility at work. Maybe you took a course in a subject that you were not strong at, or maybe you got involved in something outside of your work, where you had previously not done much at all. Whatever the case, demonstrate not only the activity, but also what you have learned, and how you have benefitted and grown, from the experience. I always think that the very best examples will be things you have initiated, or set out to do, rather than things that have happened to you.

Finally, you want to demonstrate not only improvement, but also how this improvement has strengthened your candidacy. How do these changes make you a better prospective MBA student? How will these new experiences help you to better contribute to your peers at Tuck? Be clear as to how the changes you have initiated have allowed you to position yourself as someone who can make a difference at Tuck.


John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com



Sunday, July 21, 2013

Kellogg 2013-14 MBA Essay Analysis

What follows are my thoughts and tips on this year's version of the Northwestern Kellogg MBA admissions essay prompts.


Essay 1: What’s the greatest obstacle you’ve overcome (personally or professionally)? 
How has overcoming this obstacle prepared you to achieve success now and in the future? (350 word limit)

There are a few very distinct components to this essay question: (1) an accomplishment story in which you overcame a significant obstacle (2) the transferrable skills or strengths you gained from this experience, (3) how you are using these strengths now, (4) your career direction in the future and (5) how you will utilize those strengths to be successful in accomplishing those future goals.

The problem, of course, is that you only have 350 words to do all that.  The solution is to look at the essay set as a whole and realize that the detail on point 4 (your career direction in the future) can be a quick summary as you'll give more details on your goals in essay 3.

Beyond that, don't be intimidated by the small word count here. Write an initial draft that says everything you want to say, and then as you revise it, focus (a) on eliminating the elements that aren't absolutely necessary or impactful and then (b) look for places where your explanation is over wordy or could be more direct.  This will help you get this story down to the limitation, or at least close to it. 

When deciding the best topic to write about, there are three important decisions to be made. One is whether to choose a personal or professional topic. The answer, I think, lies in the approach you take to the entire set. Ensure you have a balanced approach between work stories and personal stories. If you don't, i.e. if the essay set is too skewed towards professional stories, ask yourself where you could substitute in a personal episode. It could be this essay.

The second decision is to figure out which of your experiences have involved a significant obstacle that you were able to overcome to achieve success. Note the importance of having a story in which you (not the team or others) achieved success. The obstacle should be "big" - i.e. the greatest you've ever faced. Be sure to show how/why in your essay.  

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you need to choose a story that allows you to demonstrate the acquisition of meaningful and relevant skills. If your obstacle story doesn't have such an outcome, you either need to brainstorm more effectively/strategically, or consider another topic. 



Essay 2: What have been your most significant leadership experiences?  What challenges did you face, and what impact did you have? This is your opportunity to explain how you Think Bravely. (500 word limit)

Leadership experiences is plural so I recommend writing about more than one experience in this essay. Two is ideal, as it may be difficult to put more than that into a single 500 word essay. Two is also ideal, as those who wish to emphasize that their leadership goes beyond their jobs can use one professional and one personal example in developing their answer to this essay.  

Significant experiences with challenges and impacts have two key factors: a) your could learn from them and b) you could make a difference on the people around you by accomplishing something.  I think it necessary to try and show both in the overall essay, and even in possible in each episode you choose to write about. Choose episodes in which you had an impact as a leader, and for each be clear about what you did, the impact of success, and what you learned (about leadership or about yourself) from each.  The goal is to paint a picture of who you are and how you lead today - as the result of your accumulated experiences and learning. Be careful - if the story contains a significant obstacle, you may choose it for essay 1.

The last part of the question references Kellogg's concept of Think Bravely. This appears to mean being able to envision major changes by thinking outside the box, taking the necessary steps towards implementing these changes, and importantly, encouraging/enabling others to join.  Watch this video here. Additionally, here is a brief analysis from Kellogg Dean Sally Blount here

Consider the leadership episodes from this perspective. While it is not advisable to copy the words and feelings from the videos into your leadership experiences in this essay, it is worthwhile to ask yourself if, after reading your stories, you feel that Kellogg would believe that you exemplify these ideals, or are capable of becoming the kind of transformative leader they wish to mould at the school.  Do your experiences help show that you have the potential to make amazing and significant changes in the future? If they don't, you may not be choosing the right ones.



Essay 3:
Part 1: What career/role are you looking to pursue and why?  (250 word limit)
Part 2: Why are Kellogg and the MBA essential to achieving these career goals?  (250 word limit) (Please answer Part 2 in terms of your program choice: One-Year, Two-Year, MMM, JD-MBA).

This - the combination of parts 1 and 2 - forms the standard goals - why MBA - why school essay. In order to prepare to write his essay, or any other goals essay for that matter, you need to deeply consider the following questions:

What are your current strengths and skills?
What are your short-term and long-term goals?
How will those current strengths and skills be useful in achieving those goals?
What additional skills or experiences do you need?
How (with specific examples) can you get these additional skills and experiences at Kellogg?

Your answers to these questions and the alignment that comes as they are put together will become the building blocks of this essay. Note that there is overlap with essay 1. Identifying these points of overlap should help you to develop a consistent message across your essay set and even help you achieve the tight word limit on some essays.

In terms of the goals, be ready to detail clear and specific goals, and why it this a desirable and important move for you. Lastly, to address the why Kellogg part, be specific and give several examples that demonstrate, beyond a doubt, that this school is the ideal destination for you. A strong essay will incorporate examples of classes, extra-curricular activities, and even the "intangibles" such as what you learned from alumni or a school visit.



Additional Information (Optional): If needed, briefly describe any extenuating circumstances (e.g. unexplained gaps in work experience, choice of recommenders, inconsistent or questionable academic performance, etc.) (No word limit)

This additional essay is intended to address possibly negative elements of your application.  The content (and decision as to write it or not) should be decided and then developed on an individual basis - but certainly if you have failed a course in university or had a bad term or semester in terms of your GPA, for instance, you'll want to aim to highlight all the great and meaningful things you were doing at that time, or offer up something else as an explanation.

There's no word limit but I doubt most careful writers would exceed the maximum length of the longest essay in the set (500 words) as an absolute maximum limit. 

Many applicants ask me if it is a bad thing if they have to write here that their current supervisor cannot be their referee because they are self-sponsored and have not yet revealed to the co-workers that they are applying for an MBA. I advise that applicants should never be concerned about such a situation, and they should certainly use this space to mention that. The only thing to keep in mind is that the referees they do choose should still be well-positioned and capable of commenting on their performance as well as their professional/personal growth and skill development. 



John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com



CMU Tepper Deadlines and Essays for 2013-14 MBA Admissions

Carnegie Mellon Tepper has released deadlines and essays for those aiming to apply to enter their MBA program in the fall of 2014.

Deadlines:

Round 1
Deadline: 10/7/2013
Notification: 12/16/2013

Round 2
Deadline: 1/2/2014
Notification: 3/24/2014


Round 3
Deadline: 3/15/2014
Notification: 5/15/2014

Note that "international students are encouraged to apply no later than Round 2 to ensure adequate time for the student visa process".



Essays:

Short Answer 1: What is your professional goal immediately following graduation from the Tepper School? (Maximum 250 words)

Short Answer 2: What are your long-term career goals? (Maximum 250 words)

Essay 1: What transferrable skills have you developed that are related to your professional goals outlined in Short Answer 1? Additionally, identify the skills that you will need to develop or enhance. Specifically, how will the Tepper MBA help you develop these skills? (Maximum 500 words)

Essay 2: Describe a defining moment in your life and explain how it shaped you as a person. (Maximum 300 words)

Essay 3: How will your presence in the Tepper MBA program benefit your fellow students? How will you contribute to the school as a student and as an alumnus? (Maximum 300 words)

Optional Essay: Is there anything else that you think we should know as we evaluate your application? (Maximum 500 words)



(John's quick comment: if you are looking for a good essay set to start on as you walk through your goals-transferrable skills-why MBA-why school story, you've found it here.)


Please do take the time to verify this information at Tepper's official admissions pages. The deadlines can be found here and the essay questions here.


John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com







Thursday, July 18, 2013

Berkeley Haas MBA Admissions Essays for 2013-14

The UC Berkeley Haas School of Business has released their essays questions for those applying to their MBA program starting in the fall of 2014.

Before you set out on brainstorming topics for these essays, it is worth your while to read up on the program's defining principles.



Required Essays:

Essay 1: If you could choose one song that expresses who you are, what is it and why? (250 word maximum)

Essay 2: What is your most significant accomplishment? (250 word maximum)

Essay 3: Describe a time in the last three years when you overcame a failure. What specific insight from this experience has shaped your development? (250 word maximum)

Essay 4a: What are your post-MBA short-term and long-term career goals? How have your professional experiences prepared you to achieve these goals? 4b: How will an MBA from Haas help you achieve these goals? (750 word maximum for 4a. and 4b.)

Optional Essays:

1. Please feel free to provide a statement concerning any information you would like to add to your application that you haven’t addressed elsewhere. (500 word maximum)

2. If not clearly evident, please discuss ways in which you have demonstrated strong quantitative abilities, or plan to strengthen quantitative abilities. You do not need to list courses that appear on your transcript. (250 word maximum)



Please confirm this information at the Berkeley admissions website.

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com


Dartmouth Tuck Deadlines and Essays for the 2013-14 MBA Admissions Season

Dartmouth Tuck has released its deadlines and essays prompts for those aiming to apply to its MBA program starting in the fall of 2014.

Deadlines:

Early Action:
Deadline: 10/9/2013
Interview* completed by: 11/1/2013
Decision: 12/18/2013

November Round:
Deadline: 11/6/2013
Interview* completed by: 11/6/2013
Decision: 2/7/2014

January Round:
Deadline: 1/3/2014
Interview* completed by: 1/31/2014
Decision: 3/14/2014

April Round:
Deadline: 4/2/2014
Interview* completed by: 4/2/2014
Decision: 5/16/2014

* This is an applicant-initiated interview. Details here.

Applications are due by 5pm E.S.T. on the deadline day.



Essays:

Please respond fully but concisely to the following essay questions. There are no right or wrong answers. We encourage applicants to limit the length of their responses to 500 words for each essay. Please double-space your responses.

1. Why is an MBA a critical next step toward your short- and long-term career goals? Why is Tuck the best MBA fit for you and your goals and why are you the best fit for Tuck?

2. Tell us about your most meaningful collaborative leadership experience and what role you played. What did you learn about your own individual strengths and weaknesses through this experience?

3. Describe a circumstance in your life in which you faced adversity, failure, or setback. What actions did you take as a result and what did you learn from this experience?

4. (Optional) Please provide any additional insight or information that you have not addressed elsewhere that may be helpful in reviewing your application (e.g., unusual choice of evaluators, weaknesses in academic performance, unexplained job gaps or changes, etc.). Complete this question only if you feel your candidacy is not fully represented by this application.


5. (Reapplicants) How have you strengthened your candidacy since you last applied? Please reflect on how you have grown personally and professionally.



Please do confirm this information directly at the Dartmouth Tuck admissions website. Deadlines can be confirmed here and the essays can be confirmed here at their admissions blog - a site I highly recommend for those aiming to apply to this program!

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com




Kellogg Admissions Deadlines and Essay Questions for the 2013-14 MBA Application Season

Kellogg has released both its deadline schedule and essay prompts for those aiming to apply to the MBA programs starting in the fall of 2014.


Deadlines:

Round 1
Deadline: 10/16/2013
Decision: 12/18/2013

Round 2
Deadline: 1/7/2014
Decision: 3/25/2014

Round 3
Deadline: 4/2/2014
Decision: 5/15/2014



Essays:

Essay 1:
What’s the greatest obstacle you’ve overcome (personally or professionally)? 
How has overcoming this obstacle prepared you to achieve success now and in the future? (350 word limit)

Essay 2:
What have been your most significant leadership experiences?  What challenges did you face, and what impact did you have? This is your opportunity to explain how you Think Bravely. (500 word limit)

Essay 3:
Part 1: What career/role are you looking to pursue and why?  (250 word limit)
Part 2: Why are Kellogg and the MBA essential to achieving these career goals?  (250 word limit) (Please answer Part 2 in terms of your program choice: One-Year, Two-Year, MMM, JD-MBA).

Reapplicant Essay:
Since your previous application, what steps have you taken to strengthen your candidacy? (400 word limit) Please note: re-applicants are required to answer this question in addition to #1-3.

Additional Information (Optional):
If needed, briefly describe any extenuating circumstances (e.g. unexplained gaps in work experience, choice of recommenders, inconsistent or questionable academic performance, etc.) (No word limit)


Please confirm the deadlines here and the essays here.

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com





Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Tips on Organizing a Strong Resume

One point worth keeping in mind about your resume is the amount of time the reader will spend on the document - typically 1-3 minutes. Given this, layout and readability are both extremely important. A good resume starts in the presentation: how the document is organized and designed, as well as the content you choose to include, and how that is presented. Here are a few things to consider when judging the effectiveness of your own resume.


1. The document must be easy to look at.  For example, if the font is too small, the margins are tiny, and everything is crammed together, your reader will get a bad first impression.  This is especially important because the person reading your resume will likely only give it a minute or two, in total.  So it is vitally important to avoid having a bad impression.  Here is a small checklist to keep in mind:

a) Use a typical font, such as Times New Roman 10.5 or 11.
b) Use margins of between 10mm to 15mm all the way around, for instance using 10mm for the top and bottom, and then 15mm for the left and right sides. This will ensure your document has some white space in the margins and is centered properly on the page.
c) Ensure the paper setting is correct: for documents going to the US or Canada, use "letter-sized", and for outside the US, use "A4". Here is a page on betweenborders.com that explains the difference.  Even though many schools these days have computerized their application reading process, it is still worthwhile to be aware of the difference. 
d) Decide on line settings that will make your bullet points readable, and avoid crunching lines together in order to fit too much onto one page.  If you are using Microsoft Word, under "home" go to "line spacing options". Set it at "exactly" and at a setting between 12pt, 13pt or 14pt.  In addition, after each bullet point have a small margin, in order to ensure each bullet is separated nicely.  Experiment with these settings until you have arrived at the setting that makes your resume look best: not too packed together, and with a small bit of space between each bullet point.


2. Keep it to 1 page (see my previous post on why this is best) by selecting what to focus on rather than including everything you've ever done! When deciding, ask yourself what skills you possess that are most relevant to your future - either skills that demonstrate your ability to succeed at graduate school, or skills that are relevant to your future goals. What skills that you possess will an admissions officer or future employer value? Highlight your relevant skills in the bullet points of your resume. 


3. Avoid too much personal information (marital status, age, number of children, height, weight etc) unless requested. Such information can be distracting because it is not what your reader will be expecting when they review your document - so be sure to manage their expectations effectively.


4. Avoid long lists of adjectives like "dedicated team player" and other such fluff. These are not valuable additions to a resume, and are better included elsewhere. For instance for a job applicant, your personal description of characteristics relevant to the job to which you are applying could be in the cover letter.  And for grad school applicants, such concepts are hopefully to be found in your recommendation letters.


5. Include a short list of personal activities in the additional section. In terms of what to choose, this is the criteria I consider: 

a) The activity should demonstrate something appealing about you.
b) You can show a strong time commitment to the activity.
c) The content should be recent.
d) The content is strategic.  

If the activity fits all three criteria, then certainly include it.  For instance if you have been a starting member of a community basketball team for the past 1.5 years and you play twice a month, this is worthy of inclusion. You can highlight team and/or leadership experience, and also you have shown dedication to the activity.  It is easy to see how an activity that does not meet all three criteria would not be worth including: a 2-hour volunteer experience in 1994 that was never repeated is probably not worth fitting on your page, especially if you have more recent and significant experiences.

In terms of point d), some activities people do regularly are just not worth including in the resume, even if they fit a) b) and c). Many people read hundreds of books, or watch hundreds of movies, for instance.  However interesting such activities are, they should not typically be included in your resume, because they don't say anything interesting about you.


6. Make sure each individual bullet point, no matter what section it is in, is clear, impressive and impactful.


7. Have someone whose opinion you trust read your resume and give you feedback on it. It can be difficult to assess the effectiveness of your own work.



Steps 2, 6, and 7 will likely require assistance, so do consult with a professional to ensure your resume is working as effectively as possible. Finally, be sure to read carefully the instructions provided by the school you are applying to, or the recruiter or company to whom you will send your resume.  There may be additional instructions, including the number of lines to use, or other sections that may be requested such as international experience or situation-specific information.  Show that you may taken the time to understand their specifications and reflect them the version of your resume you send to them.

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

UCLA Anderson MBA Deadlines and Essay Prompts for 2013-14 Admissions Season

The UCLA Anderson School of Management has released has released deadlines and essay prompts for those applying for a seat in their MBA program starting in the fall of 2014.

Round 1 - 
Deadline: 10/22/2013
Decision: 1/28/2014

Round 2 - 
Deadline: 1/7/2014
Decision: 4/2/2014

Round 3 - 
Deadline: 4/15/2014
Decision: 6/3/2014


As always, do confirm this information directly at UCLA's official admissions site.


Here are the essay topics: 

(Required essay) 
What are your short-term and long-term career goals, and how will an MBA from UCLA Anderson specifically help you achieve these goals? (750 words maximum)

(Optional essay) 
The following essay is optional. No preference is given in the evaluation process to applicants who submit an optional essay. Please note that we only accept written essays.

Are there any extenuating circumstances in your profile about which the Admissions Committee should be aware? (250 words maximum)


This information, along with important details about the style and final submission of your essays, can be found here.

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com

Chicago Booth Deadlines and Essay Topics for 2013-14 Admissions Season

The Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago has released deadlines and essay prompts for those applying for a seat in their MBA program starting in the fall of 2014.

Deadlines:

Round 1 - 
Deadline: 10/3/2013
Decision: 12/19/2013

Round 2 - 
Deadline: 1/8/2014
Decision: 3/27/2014

Round 3 - 
Deadline: 4/42014
Decision: 5/21/2014

To confirm this information, please check directly at the Booth admissions website


Here are their essay questions:


Short Answer Essays:
1.  My favorite part of my work is….  (250 word max)
2.  I started thinking differently when…  (250 word max)

Presentation/Essay:
The Chicago Booth experience will take you deeper into issues, force you to challenge assumptions, and broaden your perspective. In a four-slide presentation or an essay of no more than 600 words, broaden our perspective about who you are. Understanding what we currently know about you from the application, what else would you like us to know?  

Reapplicant Essay:
Upon reflection, how has your perception regarding your future, Chicago Booth, and/or getting an MBA changed since the time of your last application? (300 word max)


In a recent post to their admissions blog the school revealed these new questions, as well as some important insight regarding the essays:

This year’s questions have been specifically designed to get to know you on a deeper level and to go beyond why it is that you want an MBA.  As you review the essay questions above, we encourage you to think about the experiences that have shaped and influenced you, your passions and interests (professionally and personally), and what you think the Admissions Committee needs to know about you in order to fully understand your candidacy. While essay questions are just one part of a holistic evaluation process, they are still a very relevant and valuable component for our Admissions Committee.

You may notice that we do not have a formal essay question asking you to outline your career goals and reasons for an MBA. Our full online application, which will go live within a couple of weeks, will offer an opportunity for you to share this important information as well.



More information, including presentation guidelines, can be found here.

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com




Sunday, July 7, 2013

IESE MBA Students Hosting Information Session in Tokyo on July 20, 2013

There will be an event in Tokyo on Saturday, July 20 2013 for those interested in the IESE MBA program.  Details:

日程:720日(土)
時間:11:30 or 13:30~ の2 回、各回1.5時間程度を予定
会場:Affinity 英語学院 (〒101-0047 東京都千代田区内神田1-5-16 アルテ大手町 2階)
   最寄:JR神田駅 東京メトロ大手町駅
内容:学校紹介、IESE 卒業生/現役生とのInteractive talk session
申込:以下のリンクからお申込をお願い致します。

Here is the registration link.

John Couke

john.couke@gmail.com

Thursday, July 4, 2013

MIT Sloan MBA Admissions Essay Analysis 2013-14

What follows are my brief comments on this year's MIT Sloan essay topics.


The school's own instructions: We are interested in learning more about how you work, think, and act. For each essay, please provide a brief overview of the situation followed by a detailed description of your response. Please limit the experiences you discuss to those which have occurred in the past three years. In each of the essays, please describe in detail what you thought, felt, said, and did.


Essay 1: The mission of the MIT Sloan School of Management is to develop principled, innovative leaders who improve the world and generate ideas that advance management practice.  Discuss how you will contribute toward advancing the mission based on examples of past work and activities.   (500 words or fewer, limited to one page)

MIT has removed their cover letter this year, however in its place some remnants of what it asked for are now here, in essay 1. At first glance this question only seems to be asking for 2+ examples from your past. I think in reality it gives you the chance to address a slightly wider story, while also focusing in on those examples.

This question is asking for examples of your past work and non-work activities. Ensure that the examples you choose demonstrate your ability (and therefore potential) to innovate and generate ideas that have impacted those around you in a positive way. Space may be at a premium, however still take care to ensure your examples include detail related to what you thought, felt, said and did.

Notice how there is no mention of what your specific career goals are in the essay question. This is likely because MIT admissions pride themselves on their ability to see your potential to achieve great things in the future based on how you have approached and dealt with situations in the past. Make that the recent past - as MIT requests that your examples be from within the past three years. Despite this, I do recommend that clients at the very least mention the career direction they envision for themselves post-MBA, as well as why that is important or meaningful to them, in this essay. Doing so allows you to demonstrate the gap between those goals and your current skill set, in order for you to then show clearly your plan for your studies while at MIT. This is important, and is referred to in the question when you are asked "how you will contribute towards advancing the mission". 

In summary, after a brief introduction move into a quick assessment of your future plan and what you plan to get from MIT to get you there. Then, show through detailed recent examples (perhaps one work-related and one non-work related) that you have the initiative and principles to achieve these goals and add value while at MIT. Walking through these steps should - if you've brainstormed contents effectively - help you put together a strong initial draft towards this essay question.


Essay 2: Describe a time when you pushed yourself beyond your comfort zone. (500 words or fewer, limited to one page)

I mentioned "detailed examples" in my treatment of essay 1. Detail is important - and perhaps more important to MIT than to just about any other program. Note the instructions that proceed these essay questions: We are interested in learning more about how you work, think, and act. For each essay, please provide a brief overview of the situation followed by a detailed description of your response. Please limit the experiences you discuss to those which have occurred in the past three years. In each of the essays, please describe in detail what you thought, felt, said, and did.

The idea here is that MIT can evaluate your actions, thinking and methods from recent experiences to assess your potential to be successful in the future. In order to help your reader do this effectively, you need to ensure that your essays are sufficiently detailed and therefore revealing about how you think and how you react to different situations.

In this essay you need to describe a time when you dealt with a situation that may have been new to you, or "over your head" or beyond what was your typical level of responsibility within your organization (or equivalent if you are dealing with an extra-curricular activity). The idea that you pushed yourself most likely means that you made decisions that forced you into a situation as described above. 

To tell this story properly, you need to include each of the following elements: the initial situation and what was at stake for you and/or the organization, the decision(s) you made, and the result. The latter means the result on the project or situation involved, the company itself, and finally, the result on you - literally the impact this experience had on you and the takeaway(s) you gained from the experience. This is a lot of detail, but really all of it is necessary to give your story the level of context required. I've modeled this approach after the STAR storytelling approach. Read here for more on this highly logical method of storytelling.

Within these "high-level" details, however, you must focus in on the specifics of the push you gave yourself that moved you out of your comfort zone. This could have been a reaction to a particular decision made by someone else, the result of a quick brainstorming session done after a key meeting on a project, or as part of your preparation for leading a team on a certain day. Whatever the case make sure that when you detail the thoughts and words that went into your actions, you focus in on the moment in which they occurred. In other words, don't generalize about how you usually react to situations. Instead offer one clear episode and be specific. 


Optional: The Admissions Committee invites you to share anything else you would like us to know about you, in any format. 

An essay will likely be the most popular format, but don't let that stop you from trying something a bit more creative as long as it helps you to get across whatever message you are aiming for here.

In terms of that message, start by asking yourself if there are any weaknesses or other such things you feel may need to be explained here, such as a relatively low GPA from university or from one year of university. If you do this, try to emphasize the positive (i.e. for this example what you were doing at the time and how the learning from it was relevant and important to you). 

Other than that, look to your responses to the two essays above and ask yourself if you've offered a good balance between work and non-work examples. If you haven't, and for instance have emphasized professional experience, then consider introducing your extra-curricular activities here. MIT leans towards recent examples, and that's always good advice to follow, but the question here does offer a lot more freedom, so something from more than three years ago could be considered a topic as long as you detail the takeaway or impact or whatever makes the experience still relevant today.   

Finally, some may use this optional essay as an opportunity to detail the specific reasons they feel MIT offers the best fit for them, given their past and their future. If this is the route you have chosen, read my article on demonstrating fit with an MBA program to ensure your examples are as concise as possible.

If you do go with an essay to answer this question it appears there is no word limit - so use 500 words (their limit on other essays) as your absolute maximum here, while noting that shorter may in fact be better. MIT optional essays used to be about 250 words - so obviously conciseness is valued. 




Closing Thoughts

In closing, let me remind readers of the MIT slogan "MInd and Hand". In doing so I am not proposing that this theme be pasted all over your essays, nor am I saying that "because MIT is looking for this kind of thing, you need to write about it no matter what your background is".  In fact I often propose the opposite - rather than writing what you think they're looking for you're always better off representing what makes you exceptional on its own terms. Having said this, the concept of Mind and Hand is the ability to bring practical application to learned things, and to me, this defines what it takes to be successful not only during the MBA, but also in applying the experience to challenges you'll face in the future. Read here for an interesting (if slightly older) take on this, and go here for a deeper reading on this topic.



John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com




Tuesday, July 2, 2013

MIT Sloan Essays for 2013-14 MBA Admissions

MIT Sloan has released their essays prompts for those applying to enter their MBA program starting in the fall of 2014. Of particular note is the fact that they have eliminated their "cover letter" from the essay set.  Here are their prompts for this year along with the school's own instructions:



We are interested in learning more about how you work, think, and act. For each essay, please provide a brief overview of the situation followed by a detailed description of your response. Please limit the experiences you discuss to those which have occurred in the past three years.
In each of the essays, please describe in detail what you thought, felt, said, and did.

Essay 1: The mission of the MIT Sloan School of Management is to develop principled, innovative leaders who improve the world and generate ideas that advance management practice.  Discuss how you will contribute toward advancing the mission based on examples of past work and activities.   (500 words or fewer, limited to one page)

Essay 2: Describe a time when you pushed yourself beyond your comfort zone. (500 words or fewer, limited to one page)


Optional: The Admissions Committee invites you to share anything else you would like us to know about you, in any format. 




Please confirm all information directly at the MIT Sloan admissions website.

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com

Monday, July 1, 2013

Wharton 2013-14 MBA Essay Analysis

What follows is a summary of my thoughts on the Wharton essay prompts for the 2013-14 admissions season.


Required Essays:
1. What do you aspire to achieve, personally and professionally, through the Wharton MBA? (500 words)

This question is asking about two specific things: (1) your future goals, and (2) how experiencing Wharton will help you to achieve those goals. "Goals" here are defined by the question as including both personal and professional elements, and so ideally you'll aim to include both in your vision for your future. It's not enough to detail how you'll be successful. Instead, professional success should be accompanied by personal growth and making a positive impact on the people around you and you should do your best to incorporate both in your answer. You can include example of this growth and success at and after the MBA. Think of the question as containing BOTH of these elements: what do you hope to achieve DURING the Wharton MBA, and what to do hope to achieve USING the Wharton MBA after you've graduated? Both are important here. 

Start this essay with an introduction by detailing the skill set you have now. Move from here to your career goals - and be as specific as you can about what you aim to accomplish and why accomplishing this is important or meaningful to you.  After introducing what you've learned and done up to now and what you aim to do in the future, you're ready to define the "gap" - i.e. what you need to learn to  position yourself to achieve your future goals. Ideally this short list will include things you can learn from an MBA, and in particular from the Wharton MBA. To show that Wharton is your ideal destination, be sure to give specific examples demonstrating how this program is the best for you. Read my blog entry titled "How to Find and Show Fit with an MBA program" for a short list of examples of how to do this. 

2. Academic engagement is an important element of the Wharton MBA experience. How do you see yourself contributing to our learning community? (500 words)

Each applicant will bring different abilities to the program - what will you offer? Don't make the mistake of only considering examples from your professional experience. The learning community at Wharton extends from the classroom to extra-curricular activities to experiences in other countries, and for each you can give an example of how a work or non-work activity will help you to add value to the experience of your classmates in the program.

Base your answer on examples and try to cover each of classroom-based learning, extracurricular learning (such as a student club) and international learning via one of the several overseas opportunities Wharton offers. When detailing your contributions, think of your work and non-work interests as possible examples. Remember: setting up a friendly international soccer competition for Wharton students and family members is just as important as offering insight in supply chain management in a particular course: both will help you to add value to those around you. 


Optional Essay:
If you feel there are extenuating circumstances of which the Committee should be aware, please explain them here (e.g., unexplained gaps in work experience, choice of recommenders, or questionable academic performance, significant weaknesses in our application). (250 words)

The wording of this question seems to make it ideal only for addressing weaknesses in your application. The goal of any MBA essay is to reveal something positive about you - ask yourself how you might be able to do this as a part of shedding light on that particular weakness you choose to write about. A weak GPA for instance could be an opportunity to detail a strong extra-curricular activity and the learning that came from that.

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com